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'''John Cotton Smith''' (February 12, 1765 – December 7, 1845) was a nineteenth-century lawyer, judge and politician from Connecticut. He served as a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]], as the [[List of Lieutenant Governors of Connecticut|27th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut]] and as the [[List of Governors of Connecticut|23rd Governor of Connecticut]].

==Biography==
Smith was born in [[Sharon, Connecticut]], the son of Cotton Mather Smith, a [[Puritan]] minister who moved from [[Massachusetts]] to Connecticut. Smith completed preparatory studies and graduated from [[Yale College]] in 1783. After graduation, he studied law and was  [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted to the bar]]. He began the practice of law in Sharon in 1787.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cslib.org/memorials/smithjcbio.htm |title=John Cotton Smith |publisher=Connecticut State Library |accessdate=January 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106140300/http://www.cslib.org/memorials/smithjcbio.htm |archivedate=January  6, 2013 }}</ref> Smith married Margaret Evertson and they had one son together.<ref>{{cite web|url=  http://www.ctstatelibrary.org/node/9496|title=  JOHN COTTON SMITH, GOVERNOR OF CONNECTICUT, 1812-1817|publisher=  Connecticut State Library|accessdate=  January 1, 2013|url-status=  dead|archiveurl=  https://archive.is/20130414145939/http://www.ctstatelibrary.org/node/9496|archivedate=  April 14, 2013|df=  mdy-all}}</ref>

He entered politics as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1793. He served in the State House in 1793, 1796 and 1800. In 1800 he served as [[Speaker (politics)|speaker]] of that body.

Smith was elected as a [[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist]] candidate to the [[Sixth United States Congress|Sixth Congress]] to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of [[Jonathan Brace]]. He was reelected to the [[Seventh United States Congress|Seventh]], [[Eighth United States Congress|Eighth]] and [[Ninth United States Congress|Ninth]] Congresses, serving from November 17, 1800 until his resignation in August 1806.<ref>{{cite web|url=  http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/john_smith/410052|title =   Rep. John Cotton Smith |publisher= Govtrack.us |accessdate =January 1, 2013}}</ref> Smith was chairman of the Committee on Claims in the Seventh through Ninth Congresses.
*Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

After serving in Congress, Smith served as an associate judge of the Superior Court and Supreme Court of Errors from 1809 to 1811.[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/smith5.html John Cotton Smith (1765-1845)] [www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/ledger/students/7176] He served as the [[List of Lieutenant Governors of Connecticut|27th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut]] from 1811 to 1812.

He was the [[List of Governors of Connecticut|22nd Governor of Connecticut]] from October 25, 1812 to May 8, 1817. Smith was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor on the Federalist ticket in 1817. He was the last [[United States Federalist Party|Federalist]] Governor of Connecticut.

Smith retired from politics but remained involved in academic and religious organizations. He was a member of the [[Massachusetts Historical Society]], the [[Connecticut Historical Society]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cslib.org/memorials/smithjcbio.htm |title=John Cotton Smith |publisher=Connecticut State Library |accessdate=January 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106140300/http://www.cslib.org/memorials/smithjcbio.htm |archivedate=January  6, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_connecticut/col2-content/main-content-list/title_smith_john.html|title =Connecticut Governor John Cotton Smith|publisher= National Governors Association |accessdate =January 1, 2013}}</ref> and was elected a member of the [[American Antiquarian Society]] in 1813.<ref>[http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlist American Antiquarian Society Members Directory]</ref> He served as president of the [[American Bible Society]] from 1831 until his death in 1845.<ref>{{cite web|url=  http://www.americanbiblehistory.com/john_cotton_smith.html|title = John Cotton Smith President of the American Bible Society, 1831-1845. Smith died on December 7, 1845 in Sharon. He is interred in Hillside Cemetery.

[[Gov. Smith Homestead|Smith's home]] in Sharon is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].

==References==

==External links==
 <!-- for current and future use if material is uploaded -->
* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000570 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: SMITH, John Cotton, (1765 - 1845)]
* [http://www.americanbiblehistory.com/john_cotton_smith.html Biographical Sketch of John Cotton Smith]
* {{Find a Grave|12669162}}
* [http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_connecticut/col2-content/main-content-list/title_smith_john.html National Governors Association: Connecticut Governor John Cotton Smith]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130106140300/http://www.cslib.org/memorials/smithjcbio.htm Connecticut State Library: John Cotton Smith]
* [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/john_smith/410052 Govtrack.us: Rep. John Cotton Smith]
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/smith5.html The Political Graveyard: Smith, John Cotton (1765-1845)]


[[Category:1765 births]]
[[Category:1845 deaths]]
[[Category:Members of the Connecticut General Assembly Council of Assistants (1662–1818)]]
[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut]]
[[Category:People from Sharon, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Connecticut Federalists]]
[[Category:Governors of Connecticut]]
[[Category:Yale College alumni]]
[[Category:Speakers of the Connecticut House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Federalist Party state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Members of the American Antiquarian Society]]